


On Shatterstar's Sexuality

by bigbardafree



Category: Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616
Genre: Character Study, Embedded Images, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-12
Updated: 2017-01-12
Packaged: 2018-09-17 00:32:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9296342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bigbardafree/pseuds/bigbardafree
Summary: "De-lurking to ask if, considering Shatterstar was more of an asexual character, would you have preferred that Peter David keep him that way, instead of opting for the pansexual polyamorous route that he did with modern X-Factor? Do you think the "They're major characters in a same-sex relationship, but they don't have sex" thing would have been too problematic, or would you have just preferred to see another asexual person in the media? I'm curious about your opinion!"





	

**Author's Note:**

> I was asked this question almost 6 years ago on tumblr when I was reading 90's X-Factor. Truth be told, I would burn my blog to the ground without a second thought and I may have done so by the time this is posted. However, this is one of the posts I would like to keep because I still think it's a good character study.

 

 

 

 

> "Hi Barda! De-lurking to ask if, considering Shatterstar was more of an asexual character, would you have preferred that Peter David keep him that way, instead of opting for the pansexual polyamorous route that he did with modern X-Factor? Do you think the "They're major characters in a same-sex relationship, but they don't have sex" thing would have been too problematic, or would you have just preferred to see another asexual person in the media? I'm curious about your opinion!"

 

Oh wow this is a really good question.

I’m going to have to explain my stance on Shatterstar’s sexuality before I can answer and I’ve actually spent way more time thinking about Shatterstar’s sexuality than I would like to admit. When I read X-Force, I did read him as asexual and aromantic. Nothing about his personality seemed to indicate that he had any attraction to ANYTHING. His sole motivation in life was fighting. And that made sense, since that is what he was bred and raised to do.

The commentary in the above scan is by Feral, by the way.

It’s interesting, though, since I read X-Factor before I identified as asexual, and before I knew what it really meant, let alone what “aromantic” was, I realize that I still read Shatterstar that way. I couldn’t pair him with anyone. And EVERYONE hit on him.

I’m pretty sure that’s because Liefeld had a huge boner for his own character. Feral was the one I think he was actually trying to get Shatterstar together with but the lack of sexual tension between them was actually hilarious. It was like he designed Shatterstar, but the character wrote itself. Feral tried so hard to get into his pants but Shatterstar was always like, “I don’t know what you’re talking about and I don’t really care. I need get shit done.”

So, that was Shatterstar for the first part of the series.

The major change in Shatterstar’s personality start to take shape in X-Force #29 and #30. As he begins to learn and understand human culture, he begins to lose some of that mindset that his only purpose in life is to be the best warrior possible.

Those issues are a mini-arc in which Shatterstar is captured by Arcade and forced to play a game for his life. It’s also when the readers learn about Shatterstar’s wife.

Here we learn one of the defining reasons behind Shatterstar’s apparent asexuality and aromanticism. He was never raised to understand emotions and romance or sexuality. He literally DOES NOT GET IT. 

It is expected to read as strange to the audience because in accordance to societal norms one is supposed to at least experience sexual and romantic attraction. Shatterstar, however, wasn’t raised in an environment that adheres to those norms. He was told from birth that his only purpose was to improve his game. Romance and sexuality weren’t an option (even simple friendship, it seems, is out of the picture).

He also, personally, wants to be the best warrior possible. He enjoys fighting. In his mind (based on what he’s been told his entire life), romance and fighting are mutually exclusive. Feelings would only distract him from his goal. If he ever did have romantic feelings or sexual attraction, they have been buried under years of denial and the belief that they would only hinder his performance.

However, upon coming to Earth and learning about our culture, Shatterstar slowly begins to realize that this isn’t the case at all. And he begins to reach out to his teammates and tries to actually form bonds with them outside of the fact that they fight together. And the first person he reaches out to:

And just to drive the point home, here’s another good panel. It takes place after Rictor decides to take Shatterstar clubbing and he dances with a girl for the first time:

Shatterstar was bio-engineered to be able to breed and that’s about it. It’s not that he doesn’t have sexual attraction or romantic attraction, he was just never given the opportunity to understand or explore either. And the person who offers to help him figure it out:

So there you have it. This isn’t technically a study of Rictor and Shatterstar's relationship, so I’m gonna stop here, since I think I’ve made my point. I don’t think that Peter David* was wrong at all in finally cementing the relationship between Rictor and Shatterstar.

Could Shatterstar have been asexual? Of course (and he could have still been in a relationship with Rictor), but it certainly isn’t out of the question that as Shatterstar began to understand and allow himself to indulge in the idea of romance that sexual attraction came along with it. I mean, he obviously was attracted to the woman at the club, even if he didn’t understand it at the time, and the fact that he didn’t understand it freaked him out a bit.

For him to be pansexual and polyamorous isn’t out of the question either, since after he and Rictor parted after spending their time together in Mexico, Shatterstar had been traveling around trying to understand himself better. He’s trying to make up for the years of emotional development that he never got. And that’s explained in X-Factor as well:

Long story short, I have no problem with Peter David’s interpretation of Shatterstar. It made complete sense to me as someone who had read X-Force and knew the character’s background. I know not all people read Shatterstar the same way that I did, so to them, this might be out of character, but I saw no problem with it at all. Especially since having a pansexual and polyamorous mainstream character is something important as well.

Would I like to see more asexual characters in the media? Of course! I'm not sure when and if that will happen though. It’s something that people need to know exists, though I do worry about whether it would be done correctly. I also worry that there aren’t enough people working in mainstream media who know about asexuality for it to even cross their mind to have to characters in such a relationship.* I can’t express in words how much I really want it to happen, though. Not necessarily with Rictor and Shatterstar, but it’s not like Shatterstar is the only possibly asexual character ever, so there you go.

**Author's Note:**

> *Since this was posted on tumblr, Jughead has come out as asexual in his self-titled comic written by Chip Zdarsky.
> 
> *I would also like to add: fuck Peter David. This post was written years before he revealed himself to be antiziganist and while I am really happy that Shatterstar isn't straight, fuck that guy. Not to get political, but I would like that on the record. If anyone feels like sending me hate mail over that opinion, I won't see it. But if it makes you feel better, more power to you. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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